Fire escape ladder and storage means therefor



Patented Dec. 12, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIRE ESCAPE LADDER AND STORAGE MEANS 1 THEREFOR 8 Claims.

I {his..inven-tion relates to fire escapes of the type mounted onthe outside wall of a dwelling or other building immediately below the sill of a second orthird door window and consisting of a folded or telescoped ladder normally housed within. av casing, but readily releasable in case of a fire-sothat theladder may drop to a usable position andpermit occupantslof the building to descend from the window to the ground.

The principal object of. the invention is to provide a smalland compact fire escapeof the above character which will be reliable in operation and effectively usable in an emergency.

A further object is to provide a simple means for holding the ladder in its telescoped form in a removable casing by a locking means which is readily. releasable and which also. serves as a handle to facilitate the removal of the casing afterthe ladder is released.

With-the aboveand other objects, and advantagesin View, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination and arrangement, of parts hereinafter describedand claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the fire escape with the ladderin its lowered or usable position, parts being broken away and in section,

Fig. 2 is avertical front to rear sectionthrough the casing, the ladder being shown in its collapsed or telescoped position,

Fig. 3 isa horizontal section taken on the plane of line E.3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the. arrows, and

Fig 4 is a detail perspective view showing one of the slidable connections between the sections of the ladder.

Referring more in detail to the drawings which show. the present preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral l denotes the wall of a building, H the ladder and 12 the casing which encloses. and protects the ladder when it is in its collapsed position shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The casing is removably mounted on a supporting plate I3 suitably secured by screws, bolts or other fastenings I4 to thewall l0 immediately beneath the sill of a window (not shown) as is customary. The attaching or mounting member [3 is preferably a rectangular metal plate and has its side edges, bent forwardly and inwardly to provide guide channels i5 adapted to removably receive oppositely projecting. flanges E6 on the casing T2. The latter isshown as a substantially rectangular metalboX haying a front wall ll, two side walls l8.and, a topwall l9, the bottom being open and the rear being closed by the plate l3 when the casing is supported uponit as seen in Figs. 1. and

The flanges it are formed'by outwardly bending the edges of the walls 58 and they slide downwardly into the channels theinner edge of the top IS with the upperedge of plate E3 or by lugs or projections on the top is resting on. the upper ends of the guides l5;

The ladder l! comprises a suitable number of similar links or sections 2 I" slidably connected. to each other, the uppermostsection 22 being perrnanently connected to the plate l3 by welding,

rivets, belts or other fastening means althoughif desirer.-.;suitable bolts or screws 23 may be used; toezrtcndain othe wall lElas indicated in Fig. 3. Each ladder section is U-shaped being formed by bending a metal rod-to provide parallel side-bars 2 5 connected at their lower ends by an outwardly bowed cross bar or round 25. rounds project outwardly from the wall Ill to give clearance for a part of the foot while descending the escape. At the upper ends of the ide bars 2d are integral sleeves 26 which slide on the bars 2 5 of the next above ladder section,

the sleeves being of suflicient vertical height to.

guide the sections on each other to keep them in line and prevent binding as the sections slide on each other while the ladder is being either extended or collapsed. The construction is such that the sections slide vertically being slightly off-set from each other as seen in Fig. 2 and hence the sections may be telescopedor collapsed into a very small and compact arrangement.

A novel combination locking and releasing means for both the ladder and the casing is provided, a part of such means permitting the quick and easy removal of the casing or cover when the ladder has been dropped for use. It includes a link or strap 21 for holding the ladder sections folded or collapsed, a latch 28 and coacting keeper 2 9 to. lock the casing and the strap together and a latchoperating member 30 which also serves as a handle to permit quick removal of the casing after the casing and strap have been disconnected from each other. The link 2! is preferably in the form of a strip or strap of flexible metal such as copper or brass having one end 3h 15, their downward: movement being limited. by the engagement of These curved formed in the lugs 29, the aligned apertures receiving the latch 28. The operating member 30 is in the form of a vertical shaft rotatable in a tubular bearing 34 extending through and fixed in the top Hi, the upper end of the shaft carrying a suitable handle 35 preferably in the form of a cross bar. The latch is carried by the lower end of the shaft and comprises a curved portion on the end of a radially projecting arm 36 fixed to the shaft. It will be seen on reference to Fig. 3, that when the shaft so is given a quarter turn or less in a counter clockwise direction the curved latch 29 will be moved out of the said aligned apertures to release the strap from its connection with the casing, and the collapsed ladder sections will instantly drop by gravity to the usable position shown in Fig. 1. The operator uses the handle 35 in releasing the latch and he may then pull upwardly on the handle to lift the casing [2 entirely free from the channels IS.

A small hand-hole normally closed by a pivoted or removable cover (not shown) may be provided in the upper part of one of the walls ll or id to facilitate the engagement of the latch with the aperture 3| in the strap to lock the parts together after the sections of the ladder have been telescoped to folded or collapsed position. The casing 12 may extend sufficiently below the collapsed ladder sections to protect them from snow, sleet and rain, and if desired the front wall ll may be provided with an outwardly and downwardl extending deflector 31 which will tend to direct rain, etc., from the ladder. All parts may be made of rust-proof metal or treated to prevent rust or corrosion so that the escape will be in condition for use at all times.

It is believed the operation will be apparent from the foregoing without a more extended eX- planation but attention is called to the following advantages of the invention. To put the escape into usable form it is only necessary to reach over the window sill and give the handle a slight turn and to then pull upwardly on it. The device is therefore practically automatic in operation and will enable persons to make an immediate escape from a second or third door window in case of a fire or other emergency. The locking of the collapsed ladder, which is connected to the anchored wall plate, to the casing will prevent a prowler or anyone on the ground from releasing the ladder and using it as a means to enter the house through the upper window. The vertical disposition and sliding of the ladder sections with their outwardly bowed steps or rounds enables the ladder to be collapsed in a very compact form so that the projection of the device from the building wall will be comparatively slight. At the same time the sections will quickly drop straight down when the ladder is released. The device is therefore sure and reliable in operation, and will be at all times ready for instant use since the casing protects the ladder parts from the weather so that snow or ice cannot form upon them.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be seen that novel and advantageous provision has been made for carrying out the objects of the invention, and while preferences have been disclosed, attention invited to possibility making variations within the scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A fire escape comprising an attaching member to be anchored to the outside of the wall of a building, a casing supported by said member and upwardly removable therefrom, said casing having an open bottom and a closed top, a vertically collapsible ladder in said casing having slidably engaged sections movable downwardly through said open bottom, the uppermost ladder section being secured to said member, a link for holding the ladder collapsed in said casing, said link having one end attached to the lower most section of the ladder and its other end disposed adjacent the top of the casing, a keeper on the under side of the casing top, and a manually actuated latch carried by said casing and engagable with said keeper and with the upper end of said link to hold the ladder collapsed in said casing and to prevent upward removal of said casing.

2. A fire escape comprising an attaching member to be anchored to a wall, a casing supported by said member and upwardly removable from the same, said casing having an open bottom, a vertically collapsible ladder in said casing having slidably engaged sections movable downwardly through said open bottom, the uppermost section being secured to said member, and manually releasable means connecting the lowermost section of said ladder to said casing to hold the collapsed ladder in the casing and to prevent upward removal of said casing, said releasable means comp-rising a link connected to the lowermost section of said ladder and a movable latch carried by said casing and releasably engaged with said link.

3. A fire escape comprising an attaching member to be anchored to a wall, a casing supported by said member and upwardly removable from the same, said casing having an open bottom, a vertically collapsible ladder in said casing having slidably engaged sections movable downwardly through said open bottom, the uppermost section being secured to said member, and manually releasable means connecting the lowermost section of said ladder to said casing to hold the collapsed ladder in the casing and to prevent upward removal of said casing, said releasable means comprising a link connected to the lowermost section of said ladder, a swingable latch within said casing to releasably engage said link, a rotatable shaft extending through the top of said casing and carrying said latch, and a handle on the outer end of said shaft.

4. A fire escape comprising an attaching member to be anchored to a wall, a casing supported by said member and upwardly removable from the same, said casing having an open bottom, a vertically collapsible ladder in said casing having slidably engaged sections movable downwardly through said open bottom, the uppermost section being secured to said member, and manually releasable means connecting the lowermost section of said ladder to said casing to hold the collapsed ladder in the casing and to prevent upward removal of said casing, said releasable means comprising a strap having its lower end connected to the lowermost section of said ladder and an aperture in its upper end, a vertical shaft extending through and rotatable in the top of said casing and having a handle at its upper end, a swingable latch on the lower end of said shaft, and a keeper carried by said casing and having an aperture with which the aperture in said strap may be aligned, said latch being movable into and out of said aligned apertures.

5. In a fire escape, a support for mounting on the wall of a building, a collapsible ladder having vertically disposed sections slidable upon each other, the uppermost section having means at its top for attaching it to a building wall, a vertical link connected at its lower end to the lowermost section of said ladder and having its upper end disposed adjacent said support when the ladder sections are telescoped to collapsed position, and a manually operable latch carried by said support and releasably engaged with said link to hold the sections of said ladder in collapsed position.

6. A fire escape comprising an attaching memher to be anchored to the outside of a wall of a building, a casing supported by said member and upwardly removable from the same, said casing including a top and having an open bottom, a vertically-col1apsible, sectional ladder in said casing, and having its uppermost section fixed against vertical movement, the other sections being movable downwardly through said open bottom, a link for holding the ladder collapsed in said casing, said link having its lower end attached to the lowermost ladder section and its upper free end disposed adjacent to the top of the casing, a keeper fixed in the upper part of said casing adjacent its top and a manually releasable latch carried by said casing and engagable with both said keeper and the upper end of said link to hold the ladder collapsed in said casing and to prevent upward removal of said casing from said attaching member.

7. The structure of claim 6 in which said manually releasable latch comprises a vertical shaft extending through the top of the casing and rotatably mounted thereon, a swingable latch on the inner end of said shaft and a handle on the outer end of said shaft, said handle being useable to lift the casing from said attaching member when said latch member is in released position.

8. A fire escape comprising a flat rectangular attaching plate to be anchored to the outside ofthe wall of a building and having at its sides oppositely facing vertical guides, an open-bottom casing having top, front and side walls, said side walls having vertical, oppositely projecting flanges to slide in said guides and permit upward removal of said casing from said attaching plate, a vertically-collapsible, sectional ladder in said casing, the uppermost section of the ladder being secured to said attaching plate within the casing and the other sections being movable downwardly through the open bottom of the casing, a member to hold the ladder collapsed in said casing, said member having its lower end attached to the lowermost section of the ladder and its upper end disposed adjacent to the top of the casing, a keeper on the under .E-side of said casing top, and manually actuated latch carried by said casing and enga able with ,said keeper and with the upper end of said member to hold the ladder in collapsed position and to prevent upward removal of said casing.

ANDREW A. MCCALL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 260,245 Schmidt June 2'7, 1882 266,183 Moore Oct. 17, 1882 994,760 Leroy June 13, 1911 1,437,691 Taylor Dec. 5, 1922 

